Wind (Buryoku Book 4)

by Aaron Oster

  “Show no mercy,” Geon thought, his bloodlust almost palpable.

  Roy breathed out, then spread his legs wide, his foot scraping across the sand as he flexed his knees, flooding his body with Qi.

  “I’m going to enjoy this!” Xu yelled.

  Roy couldn’t help but notice that he was coming in several strides behind the other two, allowing them to take the brunt of anything he might throw.

  A coward to the end.

  Roy’s muscles flexed, then he shot forward. The sand puffed beneath his feet as he used his Movement technique, dodging neatly between the other two and going straight for Xu. The man skidded to a halt, trying to throw up a defense, but he was just a moment too late. Roy’s fist sank into his face. There was no technique, just the power and force of his momentum.

  The crunch of Xu’s nose was so loud that it echoed through the arena, making more than one person wince in sympathy. The man was sent sprawling, his nose flattened against his face, blood pouring it its wake.

  Roy spun in place, breathing out as he did and scything the legs out from his second attacker. He dodged back, using the Unaru Kuma to its fullest and avoided the third man’s strike. He moved in then, as the man was off balance, and drove two punches into his exposed ribs. The man staggered back, clutching at his side, and Roy spun to take on the third.

  This man didn’t approach any more cautiously than the first two, moving in and swinging wildly for his head. Roy ducked under the blow, drilling a punch into the man’s liver and dropping him as well. He had to wonder how these fighters had all made it this far. After all, shouldn’t they have been the best of the best?

  “You seem to like beating up those who are weaker than you.”

  Roy turned to see Marrie, standing with her hands on her hips and looking more than a little angry.

  “In case you’re having trouble with your eyes, they’re all 2nd or 3rd Dan. I’m still at Base.”

  “Or so you’ve fooled everyone into believing,” Marrie replied.

  “Do you think I could fool a Sovereign?” Roy asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Marrie hesitated at that, but before they could continue their conversation, Roy’s opponents came back for a second round.

  He ducked, using his Shockwave to get back, only to see them all following with Movement techniques of their own. The shining Qi around them told him they were using Armorer techniques now too, meaning that getting through to their bodies would now take some significant power on his part.

  Xu came in first, screaming in rage, his face painted in blood. He might even have looked intimidating, had it not been for his flattened nose, which made him appear more pig than human. Roy had to resist laughing as he avoided the attack but found himself unable to counter as the second man came in to cover.

  Roy began to be driven back as the three of them ganged up, now using their numbers to their advantage, but despite that and their greater strength, he managed to hold his own. His body moved in short bursts, taking him to one side or the other, ducking and weaving through the strikes.

  The Unaru Kuma wasn’t a fighting style that was really designed for blocking or redirecting attacks – those were moves for Water Artists. Instead, it relied, like the rest of his Path, on overpowering his opponents. The problem was that they weren’t giving him an opening, and if he decided to take the hits so he could counter, his injuries would reopen.

  None of them had been nearly as injured the day before, leaving him the worst off. Still, that didn’t mean he was writing himself off just yet. All he needed to do was wait for the right opportunity.

  Xu moved in, overextending on an attack, and instead of taking the bait, Roy leaped up, using his Airstep to move clear of his encirclement.

  “Don’t let up!” Xu yelled as one of the men spun, unleashing a blast of Wind to try and knock him from the air.

  Roy met the attack with one of his own, turning midair by expelling a blast of Qi from his left leg. His Void Sphere-Pulse blasted from his foot, the attack striking the man in the chest before blasting him off his feet.

  Roy landed in a crouch, then rolled to the side, avoiding a spike of stone as it shot from the ground. Xu was right on top of him now, but Roy had had enough time. He grinned as Qi blasted from his body, entrapping Xu and his two companions. Roy could feel a distinct difference between this technique and that of the full-area he’d used the day before. For one, this one had a much shorter range, and for another, the cost of maintaining this was far less.

  “I’ll give you a chance to surrender now,” Roy said, eyeing the three struggling men. “Otherwise, I’ll end you all right here and now.”

  Xu struggled and squirmed, cursing Roy for all he was worth, but the others seemed to be leaning toward surrender. Xu glared at him, rage clouding his features as his plans once again failed. Then, his eyes traveled downward, to Roy’s Belt.

  “Of course, you’d beat us,” he said with a snarl. “After all, how are we supposed to beat a Blue-Belt?”

  Roy looked down and cursed silently as he saw that his Belt was now a solid Blue once more. He didn’t feel any different, yet he was managing to hold all three of his attackers at once, even while their Qi enhanced them.

  “Calm down,” Geon said as he sensed Roy beginning to panic. “No one can see you in here. You just need to keep calm and try and figure this out.”

  Roy’s eyes flicked to three fighters he’d managed to trap in the spinning dome of golden Qi. He might be able to get his Belt back to normal, but these three had seen it and would undoubtedly call foul as soon as he let them go. The others seemed to realize this as soon as his shoulders firmed and his eyes hardened.

  “Wait…” one of them said, his eyes going wide. “I suren-!” he began, only for Roy to shoot forward and clamp a hand over his mouth.

  “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Roy said.

  Then he drew back his fist and drove it into the man’s head.

  37

  Aika walked beside Ferry, her eyes firmly locked on Doragon’s back as he was led by Kaeru like a dog on a lead. Though she was still angry with the man, the knowledge that they were close to Roy had lightened her mood. She blamed herself for Doragon’s kidnapping, but more than that, she missed him. It felt like ages since she’d last laid eyes on her friend, and now that they were so close, she could hardly wait.

  Ferry was so happy that her entire body seemed to be vibrating. Her tail swished back and forth, her head nodded from side to side, and she’d practically been skipping since they’d begun their trek earlier that morning.

  “You seem to be even more excited than I am,” she said, finding it hard to remain angry with how happy the ferret was.

  “Going to see Roy!” she said, flashing her a wide grin.

  Ferry’s speaking ability was improving, and she could now string together short sentences, something which Aika found to be quite impressive. For children, learning to speak wasn’t exactly an overnight process, and Ferry, by all accounts, was basically a child, mentally speaking. Hermit had said that she’d be picking things up much faster than a human child, but having her learning to speak this quickly was impressive, nonetheless.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty excited to see him, too,” she said, returning Ferry’s smile. “I…” Aika cut off as she saw Kaeru and Violet come to a sudden halt.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, moving to them quickly.

  “Something’s coming,” Kaeru said, his eyes sweeping out over the surrounding dunes. “Something chaotic and dangerous.”

  “I’ve felt this before,” Violet said, her eyes roaming over the landscape as well. “Back in Light City.”

  “A Cavern Beast,” Kaeru said grimly, “and we’re on its direct path.”

  “Can we avoid it?” Aika asked, remembering well what the city had looked like in the wake of such a powerful Beast.

  “We might be able to,” Kaeru said. “But it doesn’t feel too strong yet. As Martial Artists, it’s our obl
igation to put this thing down before it becomes a real threat.”

  “What about Roy?” Ferry asked, her ears beginning to droop.

  “Hermit is on his way to save him,” Kaeru said, his eyes fixing on a point to the west. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

  “Should we go on ahead?” Aika asked. “After all, I doubt we’ll be of much…” she trailed off as she finally sensed it.

  A chaotic storm of Essence and Qi was contained within a single shape. It was madness made flesh, yet as Kaeru had said, this Beast felt to be somewhere in the Green stages.

  “Cavern Beasts grow quickly, but if we all work together, we should be able to take the monster down before it gains too much traction,” Violet said.

  “And what about him?” Aika asked, turning glare at Doragon.

  “Not to worry,” Kaeru said.

  Freezing water flowed from his hands, encasing Doragon up to his neck in a solid block of ice.

  “That should hold him for a few hours, and with this Cavern Beast, we should hopefully only need a few minutes.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Violet said, keeping his eyes fixed on a small, growing dust cloud. “When they initially faced the Cavern Beast, Hermit should have been able to take it down easily. But the thing advances and grows at a rapid rate, healing itself every time it does.”

  “There are no other sources of Essence out here,” Kaeru said. “But I’ll still take your advice and be cautious.”

  Aika witnessed something interesting then. Violet smiled and blushed! Her eyes flicked between the two of them several times, her mind working in overdrive.

  Are they…? Did they just…? No. It couldn’t be! Could it?

  A massive pillar of sand rose into the air, whirling into the shape of an upside-down tornado, distracting her from her thoughts.

  “Let’s move,” Hermit said, already moving toward the Beast. “Ferry, stay back and watch him. Make sure he doesn’t try and escape.”

  “Will watch bad-smell man,” Ferry said, in agreement.

  Aika snorted out a laugh at the indignant look on Doragon’s face.

  “If he tries to do anything, feel free to punch him in the face,” she added before moving to follow Violet and Kaeru.

  Ferry grinned in response, turning feral eyes on the trapped man. He had been the one who’d stolen Roy from them, and if he so much as twitched, she wouldn’t hesitate to strike.

  Aika followed after Kaeru and Violet, having to use her Qi Movement technique to keep up. She hadn’t exactly had much time for training over the last few weeks, and she felt as though she’d been growing rusty. Her advancement had all but ground to a halt, although she felt she was still moving along nicely.

  “What kind of Beast is that?!” she exclaimed as the three of them came to a halt near the tip of the dune.

  Below, a massive beast clattered toward them. Its body was made up of a few sections, and it had many legs. A spinning cyclone of chaotic Earth and Wind Essence spun around it, showing one of the unique traits that Cavern Beasts had — the ability to pull in all types of Essence. It was funneling into its body at a rapid rate, and even as she watched, the Beast moved from 3rd to 4th Dan Green.

  “Stand back,” Kaeru said, spreading his arms wide.

  Blue light blazed around his body, so dense and powerful that Aika felt as though she’d been simultaneously soaked and frozen, just by standing next to him. He spread his arms wide then brought them down. Hailstones the size of boulders formed above the bug-like Beast, then began raining down, slamming into the ground with far more force than gravity could provide.

  The Beast was nimble and managed to dodge and weave between the boulders of ice. Several struck, tearing massive chunks from the Beast, but it pulled in ambient Essence at such a massive rate that its wounds soon started to close. The hailstorm of boulders stopped, and Kaeru straightened.

  “Ah, now I see what you meant,” he said, brows furrowing. “This is a big problem, indeed. It almost makes you wonder how Hermit could have missed something like this.”

  Aika didn’t like the insinuation that Hermit had purposely ignored it, but at the same time, she didn’t care if he had. Roy needed his help, and worse, Hermit’s sister was coming after him. Even if he had sensed it, he’d have had to leave anyway, as getting caught in a fight between two Sovereigns would have guaranteed death for them all.

  “I guess that we will have to move in closer,” Kaeru said. “Let’s try and find its Core and tear it from this monster’s body, before it sucks this area dry and becomes a problem we can’t handle.”

  Violet nodded, moving to follow him down toward the Beast and, after taking one last look over her shoulder to make sure Doragon was still encased in ice, Aika followed, eager to end this quickly and move on to Roy.

  ***

  Doragon could not believe his luck. Not only was the Sovereign gone, but Kaeru and Violet had both been drawn away by a Cavern Beast, leaving him with only a Green-Belt to guard him. Of course, he was still trapped in this ice created out of Chakra, but being a Purple-Belt himself, Doragon was beginning to grasp the basics of the more powerful energy. Still, despite her apparent weakness, the ferret presented a problem, as she was keeping close watch, despite the fight taking place in the distance.

  That was fine, though. He didn’t technically need to escape the block of ice. All he needed to do was break the Gatestone concealed in the lining of his robes. He had no idea how the Sovereign had missed it, but Doragon wasn’t going to complain about his good luck.

  He tried squirming at first, using what little knowledge he had of Chakra to try and loosen his bonds, but the ice encasing his body was strong and held fast.

  “What you doing?” the ferret demanded, moving right up to him and practically shoving her face into his.

  “Nothing,” he muttered. “Nothing at all.”

  The ferret’s eyes narrowed, and she sniffed a couple of times, as though trying to ascertain the truth by his scent. Finally, she backed away, still looking at him in suspicion. Since she couldn’t prove he was doing anything wrong, she left him alone.

  Closing his eyes, Doragon tried to concentrate on the small area where the Gatestone was, trying to use his own Qi to shatter it. Kaeru’s Chakra kept interfering, blocking him from using his own power. It seemed that the leader of the Tonde clan’s reputation had been well-earned. He wasn’t just powerful, but crafty as well, and Doragon very much doubted he’d be able to break the Gatestone on his own.

  He twisted his body one way, then the other, feeling the block of ice shifting along with him. As soon as he realized that the ice wasn’t frozen to the ground, Doragon felt a smile curl on his lips. He might not be able to break free, nor would the ice crack by merely falling, but he could use an outside source to help aid him in his escape.

  “Hey, ferret,” he said, grabbing the Beast’s attention.

  “What you want, bad smell man?” she asked, striding over to him.

  “You’re ugly,” he said, trying to provoke a response.

  The ferret cocked her head to the side, looking confused, and Doragon cursed himself for forgetting. She was obviously newly changed and wouldn’t yet have had the chance to understand even the most basic of human insults. So, instead, he aimed at something else.

  “You’re never going to find Roy,” he said, giving her an ugly smile. “They think they know where he is, but I know the truth. He’s dead!”

  The ferret’s eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared.

  “You lie,” she hissed. “Roy is alive. I know. Feel here!” she said, pressing her thumb to her chest.

  “What a load of crap,” Doragon said, trying to put as much scorn as he could into his voice. “You feel it in your heart?! How sad can you be?”

  “Feel in Core,” she replied, letting out a huff. “You stupid, smelly human. No brain.”

  Doragon was a bit taken aback by the casual insult from this childlike being. Nothing he’d said so far s
eemed to have gotten through to her, so he decided to try something else.

  “Roy told me he didn’t like you.”

  The ferret froze, her back going stiff and her hands balling into fists. As soon as he saw this, Doragon knew he’d found his mark.

  “You lie,” the ferret said, turning angry eyes on him.

  “No, I don’t,” he said. “Everyone thinks I took him, but the truth is, he came with me willingly. He told me that you made him angry, and he wanted to get away from you!”

  The ferret was now grinding her teeth together, eyes blazing with anger. But more than that, Doragon could see her eyes moistening. She was still very young and quite easily manipulated. She was insecure, and he would seize the opportunity it presented.

  “That’s right. He doesn’t like you. He even told me that he never wants to see you again!”

  The ferret screamed, tears rolling from her eyes as she struck out at him. It was the moment Doragon had been waiting for. As the ferret’s hand flashed out, he threw his weight to the side, rocking the block of ice up at an angle.

  Her hand struck the ice, and although it didn’t have nearly enough force to crack it, the force flowed through the block and shattered the Gatestone.

  “Thanks for that,” he said, giving her a wicked grin.

  Then the world vanished in a flash of rainbow light.

  38

  Herald Duncan was growing impatient. For over four months, he’d been waiting on news of his son, only to receive nothing from the man he’d sent out to look for him. Just three weeks ago, he’d felt one of the Gatestones activate, only for nothing to appear when the beam of light lit up his room.

  He’d heard nothing from his agent since then and although he knew Doragon was still alive, he was beginning to debate sending another person out after him. He was still unsure about who he could trust, but any of the adopted members would be loyal only to him. The problem, though, would be finding someone more capable than Doragon. Because although he had people who were more powerful, none were as discrete or clever.